posted 10-03-2015 07:54 AM               

Space Cover #337: Space Shuttle Orbiter Atlantis: 30th anniversary and end of an era

October 3, 2015, marks the 30th anniversary of the first flight of Space Shuttle OV-104 Atlantis on STS-51J. 51-J was a classified DOD mission and the 21st Space Shuttle mission.

Atlantis went on the fly 33 total space missions, and now in retirement, presides proudly at the KSC Visitors Complex for all to see.

Atlantis had a very successful career, including deploying the Galileo and Magellan interplanetary probes and the Gamma Ray Observatory, and on the Shuttle Program's 100th flight, STS-71, accomplished the first Shuttle/Mir space station docking and crew transfer.

Upon landing at KSC on July 21, 2011, Atlantis completed it final mission, STS-135, and drew to a close the 30-year Space Shuttle Program. These six covers featured here provide a brief astrophilatelic history of OV-104 Atlantis.

The Rockwell Space Division Stamp Club (RSDSC) 3-cancel cover at the top marks the rollout of Atlantis at its assembly plant at Palmdale, CA, and its STS-51J launch at KSC and landing at EAFB, CA. The cover below it is a launch cover autographed by the STS-51J crew, its first crew.

The RSDSC double cancel cover at the top marks Atlantis' first launch on 51-J in 1985, and its final and 33rd launch in July, 2011, on STS-135: the beginning and end. The cover below it is a special "fold-out" cover provided by Space Coast Cover Service and upon opening has pictorial highlights from the Shuttle Program's 135 flights.

The top cover is a colorful "Lollini" cover that marks the launch of Atlantis on STS-135, and the bottom cover marks the landing of Atlantis and the official end of the Space Shuttle Program and its 135 flights. This special cover honors the 5 Shuttle orbiters and lists their flights and times of service.

These excellent covers, including many RSDSC and Lollini covers, can be acquired from Ken Havekotte of the Space Coast Cover Service.